Dog Mistakenly Euthanized After County Confused it With Another Dog, Illinois Family Says

RIGHT NOW: ] UNIMAGINABLE HEARTBREAK FOR A DOWNSTATE ILLINOIS FAMILY. THEY SAY THEIR BELOVED FAMILY DOG WAS ACCIDENTALLY EUTHANIZED BY ANIMAL CONTROL. ] NBC 5'S PHIL ROGERS IS HERE WITH THE STORY. PHIL?

(Published Monday, Aug. 13, 2018)

An Illinois couple’s dog was "mistakenly euthanized" while being held at an animal control facility for quarantine last week.

The Wang family said their beloved "freckle nosed, scarf wearing, good boy"Moses was forced to go to the Tazewell County Animal Control facility after he “accidentally bit a maintenance worker who came into our backyard unannounced.”

“[The worker] opened our side gate and knocked on our sliding door multiple times,” Tony Wang wrote on Facebook. “Moses thought he was an intruder and bit his lower leg. We were advised by Tazewell County Animal Control to bring Moses there for 10 days even though Moses was up to date with all his shots.”

In the days following, Wang said he would take his lunch breaks to visit his beloved pup and bring him pizza.

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But on Wednesday, that lunch would be the last meal the two would share.

“On Thursday before I went to work, I packed two big cookies and a Moses' favorite greenie so I could give them to him during my visit,” Tony Wang wrote. “At around 9:30 a.m., I received a call from my wife screaming and crying that Moses was dead.”

The family rushed to the facility where they said they saw their family dog dead on the floor.

“My wife is 4 months pregnant and threw herself on the concrete floor when she saw Moses' lifeless body,” Tony Wang wrote. “We had to explain to our 6 yr old son that the puppy he grew up with would not be coming back instead Moses was going to Heaven. Our son was heart broken and confused. He cried himself to sleep and said he wanted to go to Heaven so he could see Moses."

The family said the director told them Moses, which had white fur, was accidentally euthanized instead of a gold stray.

Tazewell County Animal Control confirmed it had “mistakenly euthanized” Moses.

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“Tazewell County truly regrets this error,” the facility said in a statement. “Tazewell County will be reviewing policies and procedures to prevent any such occurrence from happening in the future.”

The Wang family said they were contacting lawyers to help with their case, saying they hope to “fight for justice to ensure this horrific thing will never happen again.”

“One man's mistake is destroying my family,” Tony Wang wrote. “Only because he did not want to double check, only because he did not want to wait.”

A GoFundMe page hoping to raise money for legal fees had raised more than $7,700 as of Monday morning to help the family.

More than 80,000 pets were adopted through the 2017 Clear the Shelters campaign, a nationwide push to place deserving animals in forever homes. Join the conversation on social media using #ClearTheShelters.